Kilcooley Cistercian Abbey

East of the village of Gortnahoe stands the ruins of Kilcooley Abbey, a Cistercian abbey dating to 1182AD. Dómhnall Mór Ua Briain, King of Thomond and King of Munster, established Holy Cross Abbey in 1180 and Kilcooley Abbey two years later. Ua Briain is famed for his continuous fights of victory over the Normans in the late 12^th

The abbey was sacked and burned in 1418 and again in 1445. Rebuilding fell to the Abbot Philip O’Mulwanayn. After his death in 1463 his son William and his descendants were the abbots of Kilcooley until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540. Even though the lands were granted to Thomas Butler, 10^th Earl of Ormonde in 1557 a community of monks still resided at Kilcooley. In 1636, the 10^th Earl of Ormonde heir Lieu-Gen. James Fitz Thomas Butler, 1^st Duke of Ormonde sold Kilcooley Abbey to Sir Jerome Alexander. Cromwell’s forces finally ended the Cistercian presence at Kilcooley in 1650 and a decade later, after the restoration, Alexander’s daughter Elizabeth married Sir William Barker in 1676 and the abbey remained in their family until it was sold to the Ponsonby family in 1818.

Despite remodelling in the 15^th century, much of the fabric of the 12^th and 13^th century nave and chancel survive, including a quatrefoil window and two piscine’s with aumbrys (a place to store sacred vessels). Roof scaring denotes the fires that burned it in 15^th century. The 15^th century rebuild included a moulded doorway, a double sedilia - one with the Butler coat of arms carved into the stone, an entrance to the nave and a screen wall. The screen wall shows depictions of the crucifixion with Mary and St. John on either side, a pelican feeding its young within a chalice, and a mermaid with a comb and mirror. The screen also has a depiction that experts believe to be of Philip O’Mulwanayn. The chancel holds two tombs, one of which is that of Piers Fitz Oge Butler, who married Honora Fitzpatrick. Her father was Barnaby Fitzpatrick Mac Giolla Phádraig, 1^st Baron of Upper Ossory.

Protect our Past - Click here to read about the importance of protecting our country’s unique heritage sites

This national monument is protected in accordance with the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014